


You were looking at me, I was looking at you.

by KillerQueen



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Closeted Character, Crossdressing, M/M, Slash, X-Men: First Class
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-09-06
Updated: 2011-09-06
Packaged: 2017-10-23 11:41:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/249905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KillerQueen/pseuds/KillerQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU! Charles and Erik work in an office together. Charles is very outgoing and Erik is very secretive. The two have an embarrassing encounter in the lunch room and it only gets worse (or better, depending on how you look at it) from there...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've started a lot of fanfictions before but I've never actually finished one. This one isn't even finished, but I wrote the parts in order so I am able to upload it in chapters. I would love constructive criticism! I don't expect pity but this is the first fanfiction I have ever uploaded and this is the first thing I've written since high school that has been read by someone other than myself.

Charles always took his lunch at 1:00 PM but he made the mistake of taking a call five minutes before his lunch break and was stuck on the phone for a full 45 minutes before he could please an irate consumer. When he was finally able to hang up, the clock was pushing 2:00 PM and his stomach was growling.

Charles was displeased to walk into the lunch room and find that every single table was filled, except for one. Tucked away in the corner was a table with two seats, one was free and the other wasn’t. Charles was a friendly person, but even he had his limits. He did not want to sit with Erik Lehnsherr, the office loner.

Erik was… well Charles didn’t really know. In fact, no one knew anything about Erik. He had a thick German accent and worked on reports. That was the extent of everyone’s knowledge. Most people around the office were afraid of him. He gave off a serial killer vibe and didn’t like to be confronted.

Charles was left with no other option but to see if he could sit with him though. He was not allowed to eat in his cubicle (no one was, thanks to Emma Frost and her fear of mice. She insisted that eating in the office would attract rodents) and he really did not want to sit outside in the heat.

“Is this seat taken?” even though he knew the answer, he was hesitant when asking. He didn’t know what Erik’s reaction would be.

Erik barely looked up, “No.” he said firmly.

Charles smiled in relief and pulled the chair out from the table. He planted himself across from Erik. At first, Erik didn’t understand why Charles was sitting with him. He thought about it for a moment and realized that he had misunderstood him. Erik thought he just wanted the chair. He didn’t bother asking him to leave or get up, it wasn’t worth the trouble.

The lunch room was filled with chatter from other tables but both Erik and Charles remained quiet as they ate their lunch. Charles didn’t want to sit in silence but he couldn’t think of anything to say.

Charles tried to figure out what Erik was eating, it was in a thermos so he couldn’t see it unless it was in his spoon. It was orange and brown and didn’t look very good, but Erik seemed to enjoy it. At least, that is what Charles assumed, he couldn’t really tell by the blank look on Erik’s face. Nonetheless, he kept eating it so it mustn’t have been too bad. Charles felt that his sandwich was more appetizing though, even if it was a little dry.

Charles took out a pack of mustard from his bag and ripped it open. He squeezed the bottom of the packet but nothing landed on his bread, to his dismay a stream of mustard had flown across the table and splattered across Erik’s shirt.

“I am so sorry!” Charles apologized. He wanted to laugh, had it been anyone else he would have, and they probably would have laughed along with him. But it wasn’t anyone else, it was Erik and he never laughed, he never even smiled.

Erik looked down, “It’s fine.” His words may have suggested that he was not mad, but his tone and facial expressions lead Charles to believe that he wasn’t telling the truth. Erik took a napkin and started to lightly dab the mustard away.

“Here, let me help!” Charles grabbed a handful of napkins and leaned over the table. He tried to wipe the mustard from his shirt, but the more he wiped, the worse it got until Erik’s shirt was covered in yellow streaks.

Erik flicked Charles’ hands away and stood up. “Stop!” he grit his teeth as he spoke and Charles stopped. He was frozen with fear and embarrassment.

Everyone in the room had stopped talking to watch them. Erik was fuming. His chest expanded and collapsed violently and he clenched his napkin so hard that Charles was certain he saw blood. Erik grabbed his thermos and stormed off in the direction of the bathroom.

Charles didn’t move until Erik was gone, he took a deep breath and sat back down. The chatter quickly started up again and Charles was left alone, positively mortified.

__________

When Charles got home his front door was propped open and a baby gate was blocking the entrance. He stepped over it carefully and found his sister standing in the kitchen. She was mixing something in a bowl and talking on the phone. He waved to her and she waved back.

Charles manoeuvred around baby toys and another gate and then plopped down on his couch.

Kurt, his nephew, saw him and waddled over. He picked him up and kissed him on the forehead before setting him back down. A few moments later, Raven was standing in the living room.

“Sorry I let myself in…” Raven wasn’t very sorry; she did it all the time. “He was fussy and it was hot… and you weren’t home yet…”

Charles looked at her and just smiled, “You know Raven, one of these days I might actually bring company home.” He stated.

Raven just rolled her eyes and picked Kurt up. “Right.” She put him on her lap and began to feed him some sort of pale mush; Charles suspected it was cream of wheat.

“Why are you here anyway?” he asked.

“Are you fucking kidding me Charles?” she glared at him.

Charles didn’t understand why she was mad at him. “Excuse me?”

“It’s my birthday you dumbass. You said you’d take me out!” Charles thought about it briefly, was it really her birthday? How could he forget such a thing?

“I…uh…” he looked at her, a confused expression upon his face, “really?”

She started to laugh and Charles was not amused. “No, but you did say that you’d go out with me tonight.” Raven wiped Kurt’s face with a washcloth and continued to talk. “You don’t remember?”

Charles didn’t. Raven made plans all the time, he often ignored them because she rarely went through with them. For all he knew, this so called plan she had could have been made a year ago. “No, I’m sorry. I guess I should go get ready then.“

Raven nodded and Charles stood up. “Yes! You look like a grandpa, go change!” Charles stretched his vest out in front of him, he examined it, he didn’t really think it made him look like an old man. “and hurry, Azazel should be here soon.” She added as Charles walked away.

By the time Charles found something ‘Raven-approved’ to wear it was already dark. Kurt was asleep and Azazel was cradling him in his arms. “Ready?” Charles asked.

Raven was wearing a dark blue dress with black heals. She looked stunning, if he were Azazel he would have not let his wife go out like that, “Yup!” she exclaimed eagerly as she grabbed her purse and kissed Azazel goodbye.

“Where are we going?” Charles asked as he slipped into the driver’s seat. He had hoped that he hadn’t ‘forgotten’ that too.

“I kind of want to check out this gay bar across town…” she insisted and Charles frowned. “What?” she asked after she noticed his expression.

“I don’t want to go to a gay bar Raven. I’m not gay.” He sometimes found it hard to understand what went on in Raven’s head. He felt like everything would be so much easier if he could read minds. “What’s wrong with a good ol’ ‘straight’ bar?” he asked.

Raven looked at him, she wasn’t happy. “They’re boring Charles. Just like you.” She teased. “Besides, I want to have fun! I can’t have fun if there are guys hanging all over me.”

She had a point, but he didn’t want to admit it. “What kind of fun will I have Raven?”

Raven shrugged, “I’m sure there will be a lot of girls willing to take you home Charles. You’re like an honorary gay, fag-hags eat that shit up.”

Charles looked at her, completely lost; he didn’t know what she meant. “I don’t even…”

“Just drive.” She grabbed his GPS and punched in the address to the gay bar she wanted to go to, she had no intention of telling Charles what she meant.

__________

  


They may have arrived together, but within an hour Raven had gotten lost somewhere on dance floor and Charles was at the bar trying to fend off gay men. Raven had made a convincing argument in the car about not wanting men to hit on her, but she clearly hadn’t thought about the same thing happening to Charles. Then again, neither had he.

The bartender handed him a drink and pointed to a man a few seats down from Charles. He smiled weakly and pretended to be thankful, but he wasn’t. He had stopped drinking over an hour before because he knew Raven was going to be completely wasted and he wanted to get home safely. Charles was also not very comfortable with taking drinks from a stranger.  
A very pretty brunette woman sat down next to him and ordered herself a vodka tonic. “Having fun?” she asked and Charles shook his head no.

“No, not really…” he told her and she frowned.

“Aw me neither…” she admitted. “I mean going to a bar is fun and I like dancing, but I’m not going to meet any straight guys here.”  
Charles grinned mischievously, “Actually…”

“Oh you’re not…?” she smiled back at him. “Moira.”

“Charles.” He held his hand out for Moira to shake and she did. “I’m just here with my sister…”

Meanwhile, Raven had found herself a new friend too, a drag queen named Magdalene. “Your legs are so long!” she slurred and looked down at Magdalene’s legs. “You don’t shave?” she asked as she rubbed her hand across her fishnet stockings.

Magdalene brushed Raven’s hand away. “I’m not always dressed like this.” She tells Raven.

“Right, right…” Raven nodded and then fell silent for awhile. She was fixated on Magdalene’s dress. It was such a sparkly blue. It made her dress seem dull in comparison and she felt a little sad about that. Raven suddenly wanted to go home.

“I think you should help me find my brother. I’m tall, but you’re wayyyyy taller…he’s short but that’s okay… you can see over the crowd and find him.” Raven was confusing Magdalene and she wanted to walk away but Raven grabbed her wrist. “Come on!”

Raven weaved Magdalene through the bar until she spotted Charles. “There he is!” she exclaimed. “Charles!” Magdalene started to pull away, but was unable to.

Charles glanced up at Raven with a smile meant for Moira. It faded as soon as he saw how drunk his sister was. Azazel was going to kill him.

“Who is this?” asked Raven, her eyes were fixated on Moira.

“I’m Moira…” she introduced herself and Raven smiled with her mouth closed.

Charles looked at the man in drag and asked curiously, “and who is this Raven?”

“Oh! “ Magdalene had done her best to flip herself around and had her back facing Charles and Moira, Raven danced around Magdalene until she had spun her around. “This is Magdalene.”

Charles was finding it hard to concentrate on Magdalene’s face. The more he tried to focus, the more she seemed to look away. She looked awfully familiar though.

Charles nearly gasped when he realized who it was. “Erik?” his eyes widened, he couldn’t believe it.

“No, no… MAGDALENE.” Raven corrected her brother by shouting in his ear. Charles pushed her away from his face and she swayed back and forth, but found her balance thanks to her grip on Magdalene.

Erik, or rather Magdalene was still desperately trying to get out of Raven’s unusually strong hold. “Please! Please let go!” She demanded and Raven did just that. Magdalene stumbled backwards but managed to stay on her feet. She quickly turned herself and pushed herself through the crowd of people.

That voice, that accent, Charles knew for a fact that it was Erik. He excused himself from the bar and ran past Raven to catch up with Erik. He couldn't find him amongst all the people, but he figured that he had ran out of the club anyway. Charles found the exit, Erik was not far from the bar.

"Erik!" Charles shouted, but Erik didn't turn around. He had pulled his wig off and was briskly walking down the sidewalk. "Erik!" he repeated and Erik finally turned around.

There were tears running down Erik's face, his makeup was smeared around his eyes. "Please don't tell anyone." Erik wiped his eyes and sniffled.

"I won't..." Charles had so many questions, but he knew he wouldn't get any answers, not right now.

Erik nodded as if to say thank you and turned back around. He continued to walk down the sidewalk, Charles watched him until he was just a speck and he decided to go back and find Raven. Somehow, ruining Erik's shirt earlier in the day didn't seem that bad anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

Charles felt guilty, but he didn’t understand why. It wasn’t his fault that he had seen Erik at the bar, he had no idea that he’d be there. He still felt terrible though, he couldn’t get the image of Erik crying out of his head. The streetlight had illuminated his face so perfectly, capturing every tear and it made Charles sick to his stomach.

He wasn’t looking forward to Monday. Charles spent the entire weekend trying to come up with what to say to Erik and then he wondered if he should even say anything at all. Would it be best to pretend it never happened? He needed to talk to Erik though; he needed for him to know that he wasn’t going to tell anyone.

By the time Charles had arrived to work, he had a plan. Well, not exactly. He knew when he was going to talk to Erik at least. He’d talk to him during his smoke break because no one took a break when Erik did. It would give him the perfect opportunity to get Erik alone. It was also better than his initial plan; trap Erik in the men’s room.

Charles watched the clock closely; he knew that Erik would take a smoke break at 10:55 AM. He did this every single day. Erik’s phone alarm went off quietly and he stood up. He purposely avoided eye contact with Charles when he walked past his cubicle. That should have been Charles’s cue to leave him alone, but Charles was determined to talk to Erik.

Charles wheeled his chair back and got up. He didn’t smoke, so he didn’t have any cigarettes on him as he left the office.

He found Erik outside, standing in a corner of the building. He didn’t confront him right away; he just examined Erik from a distance.

Erik looked so different during work hours. His clothes fit him properly, but they didn’t extenuate his muscles like the dress had. His long sleeve button down shirt barely clung to the hard ripples in his arm. The waist of his shirt didn’t cling at all, but Charles knew he had a hard stomach. He had felt it when he had tried to wipe mustard away and he had seen the shape of it under his shimmering blue dress.

He wondered who the real Erik was. Was he looking at him now, or was this just a façade? Charles stepped forward and made his presence known.

Erik made a noise when he spotted Charles; it was a mix between a scoff and a groan. “What do you want?” he asked, knowing full well that Charles didn’t smoke.

“I just want to talk to you.” said Charles, his tone was light and he made sure not to step closer to Erik. Approaching Erik was like approaching a stray dog.

Erik took a drag from his cigarette, a puff of smoke escaped his mouth before he spoke, “There’s nothing to talk about.” He looked at Charles very seriously. “I know you won’t tell anyone.”

Charles was relieved at first, but Erik didn’t seem like the kind of guy who trusted people easily. Suddenly, he felt a little threatened by what Erik had said. “How do you know?” he gulped.

Erik put out his cigarette and moved forward until he was standing only a foot away from Charles. “If you tell them, then they will know your secret too.” He brushed past Charles, "You keep quiet. I’ll keep quiet."

As Erik walked past him, he squeezed Charles’s shoulder. Erik’s hand was warm and strong against his collarbone, he let go and Charles watched him walk away.

Charles pulled his shirt down and there were red finger marks across his skin. He tugged at his shirt until it was around his shoulder again and started walking back to his cubicle.

He didn’t like how things had gone down. Erik seemed positive that Charles wasn’t going to tell anyone about seeing him at the bar, but Erik’s attitude about it made him feel uncomfortable.

Charles also didn’t know what Erik had meant by his secret. What secret? He continued to walk; he climbed the stairs leading up to his work space.

“Oh dear God…” he said out loud, his words echoed softly around him. Charles figured out what Erik had meant. Charles realized that he wasn’t the only one who had been coming up with ways to deal with the bar incident over the weekend. Erik must have thought he was gay. It made sense for Erik to draw that conclusion; why else would he have been there?

Charles wanted to march up to Erik’s desk and tell him that he was not gay, but what good would that do? It would make Charles feel better, but it would leave Erik with nothing. Erik only trusted him because he thought that he had something to hold over Charles.

He didn’t know why he cared so much about Erik's feelings; Erik was making assumptions about him that weren’t true. Not to mention, he was practically blackmailing Charles based off those assumptions. Yet, he still wanted to keep Erik’s secret and he wanted him to trust him. He just couldn’t bear the thought of seeing Erik shed another tear.

Charles walked into the office and found his seat. Erik was already back to work on his computer. Erik was such a stealthy typist, it made Charles a little jealous. He usually was shushed by people around him for typing so loud. Charles settled down and looked at the list of clients he had to call. It was a long list and he was glad he had confronted Erik sooner rather than later.

______

The rest of the week seemed to go by very slowly. By Friday Charles was half tempted to call in sick. He didn’t though.

He was in the middle of a call when his boss, Sebastian Shaw, came out of his office. He gave a whistle and twirled his fingers for everyone to follow him into the conference room. “Mandatory meeting.”

The entire office stood up, except for Charles, who really couldn’t pull himself away from the call. Sebastian nodded when Charles held his phone up, “Come in when you’re done.”

When Charles finished the call he walked into the conference room. Of course there were no seats left except for one next to Erik. On the right of Erik was Hank McCoy, who had scooted his chair so far away from Erik that he was practically sitting on Alex Summer’s lap.

It made Charles frown a little. He still didn’t know much about Erik, but he kind of understood why he was so secretive. He supposed that Erik could have still been a serial killer, but Charles suspected that his closed off attitude had more to do with the fact that he liked to wear women’s clothes.

The image of Buffalo Bill emerged in his head and he tried to push it out. He was being ridiculous. Erik probably wasn’t a cross-dressing murderer.

“Please take a seat.” suggested Sebastian, he pointed to the empty seat and Charles obliged. “I’m sorry for the late notice.” He said with an annoyed tone. “I just got a memo about sexual harassment.” There were scattered groans across the room and Sebastian hushed them. “The quicker we get through this meeting, the sooner we can all go home.”

Sebastian laid out a stack of papers; he cupped his hands together and started to go through the points listed on paper.

Within minutes Charles had zoned out from boredom. His eyes were focused on the table until Erik’s hand moved ever so slightly. His eyes immediately were drawn to the fleck of red on his index fingernail. At first, he suspected that it was blood; the chilling thought escaped him when he looked closer and realized it wasn’t blood at all. It was nail polish.

He squirmed in his chair. Charles doubted that anyone else had noticed the polish on Erik’s fingernail. Even if he they had, they wouldn’t have known what it was. He knew though. A very small part of Magdalene had found her way into Erik’s life.

“Charles, are you even listening?” asked Sebastian, Charles looked up. Everyone was looking back at him, including Erik.

Charles put a hand over his mouth and squeezed; “Yes…” he said hesitantly and hoped to God that Sebastian wouldn’t ask him to repeat what he had just gone over.

Sebastian snorted and continued on. Everyone returned their attention to Sebastian, except for Erik. He was still looking at Charles, very suspiciously. Charles glared at him and Erik turned away with a shrug.

Even though it was almost physically painful for him to do so, he tried his best to pay attention for the rest of the meeting. He got the gist of it. Don’t grope your co-workers, don’t spank their butts, don’t date them etc...

Sebastian excused them and to his delight, it was time to go home.

______

There was no one in his house when he got home; it made him feel both relieved and disappointed. Tired, bored and a little lonely, he went straight to bed and didn’t wake up until the next morning.

When Charles woke up he found that he had missed a few calls. Most of them were from Raven but there was also a call from unknown number. He ignored them all and took a shower.

After he ate breakfast, he decided to call everyone back. He started with Raven who didn’t have much to say, she just wanted to talk say hi. It was so typical of her. He got off the phone with Raven and called the unknown person back.

“Hello?” a familiar, yet somewhat unrecognizable voice answered.

Charles did’t say anything for a moment and then, “Hi, uh… may I ask who this is?”

“You called me?” the voice answered back. “This is Moira…”

He grabbed his face. Moira, he thought. The girl from the bar. “This is Charles, you called me last night…”

“Oh! Sorry, I should have left a message but you didn’t answer and I got nervous.” She laughed.

Charles laughed right along with her. In all honesty, he had forgotten about her until then. He had been so wrapped up in thinking about Erik that he hadn’t acknowledged her at all since he left the bar with Raven.

“I just called because I really liked you and wanted to get to know you more.” He could tell by her tone that she was still nervous.  
“I’m sorry I didn’t call you, I’ve just been busy…” he stated.

There was silence before Moira responded, “I didn’t give you my number…”

Charles felt like a dumbass. He probably sounded like a player running through lines. “Oh, right…”

“So… do you want to meet up somewhere, tonight?” she asked; her voice didn’t seem as eager as before. “If you’re not busy.” She added.

“I’m not busy.” Charles said. The fact that he didn’t have anything to do on a Saturday night made him sad, but he supposed he needed to keep his chin up, he was making a date after all. “Where would you like to go?” he asked.

He could hear pages being turned over the phone, “How about this bar, it’s called, Harry’s Hideaway? It’s close to where we met.” She said. “I don’t know that many places around town.” Admitted Moira.

Charles bit his lip. He knew where Harry’s Hideaway was and he knew that it was indeed close to where they had met, very close. “Okay.” He said after thinking about it, he tried not to sound unsure, but he couldn’t help it.

They set a time and Charles closed his phone. He had mixed feelings about seeing Moira, but he didn’t know why. She was very pretty and funny, not to mention a doctor in training so he knew she cared about people. So why did he have so many hang-ups about meeting up with her?  


______

Charles checked his watch, Moira was twenty minutes late. He was standing outside of Harry’s Hideaway looking befuddled. He thought about going inside but somehow that seemed worse, at least if he was waiting outside, being stood up wasn’t as obvious.

He tried to call her but she didn’t answer. Charles ran his fingers through his hair, he was trying to remain calm but embarrassment and annoyance were pumping through his veins.

Thirty minutes late. He looked down at his watch again; thirty five, forty... he threw his wrist down to his side and walked away from the bar. He was not going to wait for her anymore.

Charles got into his car and drove away. He wasn’t even that mad, Raven was always telling him that he was too forgiving, but he didn’t have it in him to stay angry at people. What if something had happened? He felt worried and confused, but not even a little pissed.

He found himself struggling to push the gas pedal when he drove by the bar where he had met both Moira and Magdalene. Was Erik there? He probably was. The polish on Erik’s fingernail had been an indication that he was still dressing up; at least that was how Charles took it.

A horn honked behind him, he jumped at the noise. He had every right to be honked at; he was going slower than a nervous teenager. Charles put on his blinker and turned into a parking spot.

He didn’t know what he was doing. He should have sped up and went home. Why was he parked outside? He took a deep breath and pulled the keys out of the ignition. ”I’m just going to sit here…” he told himself. ‘Then I will go home.’ He thought quietly.

**Author's Note:**

> For those who left a comment and they're not showing up. I have no idea what happened. I've lost a comment of my own too.


End file.
